| envinado | The absorbtion of liquid by a sherry cask. In order to avoid excessive envinado, new oak casks are not used to age sherry; new casks are used to age distilled spirits. |
| envinado | The absorbtion of liquid by a sherry cask. In order to avoid excessive envinado, new oak casks are not used to age sherry; new casks are used to age distilled spirits. |
| Sherry | A fortified wine from Spain with a vast variety of styles from very dry to very sweet |
| almacenista | One who produces wine and sell it in bulk to big houses, generally for blending |
| bodega de crianza y almacenado | Another term for "almacenista," one who sells wines to big houses |
| bodega de crianza y expedicion | Big houses who are authorized to sell their wines under the protection and certification of the D.O. |
| aserpiado | Process of tilling the soil to optimize water absorbtion during the rainy fall and winter seasons. Normally done in September after harvest. |
| Marco de Jerez | The Sherry region, generally |
| Guadalete | One of the two primary rivers. Empties into the Bay of Cadiz at El Puerto de Santa Maria. |
| Guadalquivir | One of the two primary rivers. Sanlucar de Barrameda sits at its mouth in the western region of Marco de Jerez. |
| Tejon | One of the four varieties of albariza soil. It is the purest, with up to 80% limestone and therefore the hardest. It is generally located deep in the soil. |
| Barajuelas albariza | One of the four varieties of albariza soil. It is highly pure (but not as pure as Tejon). Its laminar structure faciliates root development. |
| Tosca Cerrada | One of the four varieties of albariza soil. Approximately 60% limestone. Limestone loams are mixed with clay and sand, making the soil more manageable. |
| Lentejuelas | One of the four varieties of albariza soil. Approximately 50% limestone. Limestone loams are mixed with clay and sand, making the soil more manageable. |
| Chipiona | One of the nine municipalities of Marco de Jerez and one of the six municipalities in Jerez Superior. Located on the Atlantic coast near Sanlucar de Barrameda. Soil is largely arenas and most of the moscatel in the Marco de Jerez comes from this municipalilty. Hence the local name of the grape as Moscatel de Chipiona. |
| Moscatel de Chipiona | Local synonym for Moscatel de Alejandria because most of the local production is based in Chipiona, near Sanlucar de Barrameda. |
| Rota | One of the nine municipalities of the Zona de Produccion and one of the six municipalities in Jerez Superior. Located on the Atlantic coast between Sanlucar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Maria. |
| Puerto Real | One of the nine municipalities of Marco de Jerez. Because of poor soil, NOT part of Jerez Superior. Located on the Atlantic coast south of El Puerto de Santa Maria in the Bay of Cadiz. |
| Chiclana | One of the nine municipalities of the Zona de Produccion. Located south of Puerto Real. Despite its aparent proximity to albariza soil, NOT part of Jerez Superior. |
| Trebujena | One of the nine municipalities of the Zona de Produccion and one of the six municipalites in Jerez Superior. Located inland, several miles north of Jerez de la Frontera on Albariza soil. Average vineyard size barely 1 ha. |
| Lebrija | One of the nine municipalities of Marco de Jerez. Because of poor soil, NOT part of Jerez Superior. Most inland and highest. |
| barros | Clay soils |
| arenas | Sandy soils |
| Poniente | Cool southwesterly wind from the Atlantic, bringing moisture and lowering temperatures. Humidity may reach 95%. |
| Levante | Hot, dry southeasterly wind originating in the Sahara Desert. Very hot and dry with humidity levels around 30%. |
| vara y pulgar | Also known as poda jerezana. A pruning system in which alternating arms of a vine are used to produce grapes in a season. Approximately 50% of vines are pruned in this way. |
| poda jerezana | Also known as vara y pulgar. A pruning system in which alternating arms of a vine are used to produce grapes in a season. Approximately 50% of vines are pruned in this way. |
| doble cordon | The double cordon training system in use in about 50% of vines in Marco de Jerez. Primary advantage over traditional vara y pulgar (poda jerezana) system is that it facilitates mechanical harvesting. |
| desbragado | Root pruning, generally done in conjunction with fertilization in December |
| castra and recastra | Green pruning and, perhaps the process of breaking up the aserpia and flattening the soil, both done in April-May |
| aserpio | The mounds, or mini-terraces in alberizo soil created before the rainy reason to enable the soil to absorb as much of the rain water as possible. The aserpio is broken up each April-May and the soil flattened to allow it to create a top crust that prevents evaporation of the water in the soil. |
| asoleo | Drying the grapes in the sun, turning them into raisins and concentrating their sugars (up to 450-500 g/l) |
| paseras | Special site for drying grapes (asoleo) |
| lino | Row of vines |
| primera yema | First pressing, although this may be accomplished by the weight of the grapes and with no mechanical assistance. This results in very pure, light and elegant must that is designated for biological aging. It comprises nearly 65% of total volume. |
| segunda pie | The second pressing, using mechanical pressure up to 4 kg/cm (3.9 Bar). This must is richer in solids and has more structure. It is used to produce oloroso sherries. It comprises around 20% of total volume. |
| prensas | The third and fourth pressings, using pressures greater than 3.9 Bar (4 kg/cm). Used for distilllation and vinegar, respectively. |
| desfangado | Settling process facilitating the removal of solid particles in must prior to fermentation. |
| pie de cuba | Must that is already in full fermentation with specially selected yeasts. Will make up between 2% and 10% of total volume of the new musts. |
| temultuous fermentation | The first phase of Palomino fermentation. Must is placed in large capacity (up to 50,000 l) tanks. Tumultuous fermentation begins rapidly converting the sugars in the must into alcohol, CO2 and heat. This period lasts for a variable duration (a few weeks, generally), depending on the composition of the must and the temperature (usually 24C/75F). |
| slow fermentation | The second phase of Palomino fermentation. Once enough of the sugar has been converted into alcohol, CO2 and heat, fermentation slows down. In this phase the remaining sugar is converted, leaving a dry wine. |
| mosto | The base wine when sold in ventas and bars in the Jerez region. It is between 11% and 12.5% abv. |
| encabezado | Fortification |
| mitad y mitad | Half wine and half grape spirit, which must be high proof and neutral. Usually it is made from Airen, grown, vinified and distilled in La Mancha. |
| sobretablas | An intermediate period for biologically aged wines between fermentation/fortification and aging. The fortified wines are placed in 600 l American oak casks and a velo de flor is allowed to develop. This period lasts between six months and one year. |
| secondary classification | After sobretablas, wines set for biological aging are analyzed. In instances where flor is present, but the wine's evolution is different than desired, the wine is marked for oxidative aging. |
| palma | Chalk mark for wines selected for biological aging. |
| palo cortado | Wine that has failed during sobretable to develop the quality of flor the winemakers are looking for, that is chosen at secondary classification for oxidative aging. |
| moscatel pasa | Moscatel grapes subjected to asoleo and then vinified. |
| pago | A plot of vineyard land which, due to its location and microclimatic conditions, its proximity or remoteness from the sea, its soil composition, or its terrain, produces grapes with distinct characteristics. |
| arroba | A unit of liquid measurement used in specifying barrel sizes. It is represented by the symbol "@" and is equal to 16.6 l/4.4 gal. |
| bota bodeguera | Most common barrel used for aging. It is made of American oak and has 600 l/36@ capacity. |
| ullage | Volume lost through evaporation, varies with ambient humidity. In practice it ranges from 3% to 4% in the Zona de Crianza. |
| absorbtion capacity of oak | The amount of liquid that the oak of a sherry cask may absorb: Typically 15 l/4 gal. |
| envinado | The absorbtion of liquid by a sherry cask. In order to avoid excessive envinado, new oak casks are not used to age sherry; new casks are used to age distilled spirits. |
| esparto | Coarse grass shades in a bodega, which provide difused diagonal light and filter the air and reducing dust and insects. |
| albero | A porous material spread on the interior floors of bodegas. These are soaked with water, which they release gradually, both cooling and humidifying the bodega. |
| venencia | Sampling tool used in the bodega. |
| andanas | Rows of casks in a bodega. |
| aspillado | Performing an inventory of the amount of wine in a cask. |
| soleraje | The entirety of a single solera y criadera system. |
| solera | The oldest escala (level) of a soleraje. |
| criadera | One of the nursery escalas (levels) of a soleraje representing wines of a similar age. |
| saca | The removal of wine from one criadera or the solera. |
| rocio | The replacement of wine removed from a criadera or the solera with wine from the next oldest criadera. |
| correr escalas | To run the scales. The process of saca from the solera for wines to be blended and consumed, its rocio from the oldest criadera, etc. |
| cabezuelas | Fine deposits that accumulate at the bottom of the barrel in biolocially aged wines. (Perhaps others as well?) |
| Average age of wine in a soleraje | Average age of wine in a soleraje is a function of the turnover of the total volume in the soleraje. The three factors are (i) no. of levels in the soleraje, (ii) the percentage of wine removed each time the scales are run, and (iii) the frequency with which they are run. |
| VOS | "Vinum Optimum Signatum" or "Very Old Sherry," i.e., minimum 20 years old |
| VORS | "Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum" or "Very Old Rare Sherry," i.e., minimum 30 years old |
| acetaldehydes | Bioproduct of aging under flor responsible for the sharpness in biologically aged sherries. |
| What is the optimal minimum humidity for the development of flor? | >65%, which must be stable |
| What is the optimal average temperature for the development of flor? | 20 C/68 F, which must be fairly stable |
| vino generoso | Dry fortified wine |
| vino generoso de licor | A (dry) vino generoso to which a sweet wine or RCGM is added. |
| cabaceo | A synonym for vino generoso de licor, i.e., a (dry) vino generoso to which a sweet wine or RCGM is added. |
| vino dulce natural | A finished moscatel or Pedro Ximenez sweet wine. |
| Medium | A sweet cabaceo (blend) of Amontillado or Oloroso (typically Amontillado) and a sweetening agent, i.e., Muscatel, PX or RCGM. RS between 5 and 115 g/l. |
| Cream | A sweet cabaceo (blend), typically of Oloroso and PX. RS between 115 and 140 g/l. |
| RCGM | Rectified Concentrated Grape Must |
| en rama | An en rama sherry is one consumed or bottled directly from barrel. This is something that is not difficult to do, as it only requires a light filtering before bottling to remove any coarse solids from the barrel or remains of the flor veil. |
| venenciado | Sherry sampled directly from the cask. What en rama sherries attempt to emulate. |
